One-on-One: How will Manning’s 2014 be remembered?

By Garth Shanklin & Aaron Ferguson on February 7, 2014

Regular Season Records

That was a dud.

After weeks of hype, last weekend’s Super Bowl was painfully one sided. Peyton Manning couldn’t do anything against the Seattle defense, other than throw interceptions. In the end, we, as fans, were left with a game nobody wants to remember.

But if you have to remember something about Manning’s season, which would you rather it be: the absolute inability to move the ball against Seattle, or the record-breaking performances from the regular season?

Personally, I’m an optimist, and I find it hard to believe you can simply ignore an entire season because of just one game. Manning’s regular season should go down as one of the greatest ever.

He didn’t just break the touchdown passes mark, he shattered it. His 55 total touchdowns trumped Tom Brady’s mark by five. He set the passing yardage mark too.

If that wasn’t impressive enough, consider what he’s had to endure.

Just two years ago he missed an entire season after he had neck surgery. For him to do what he did at age 37 is unbelievable, and for people to say this “tarnished his legacy” is ridiculous. One game doesn’t undo a career.

-Garth Shanklin

Super Bowl Flop

Peyton Manning will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the near future, but people may not remember his best season the way they should. Peyton earned his fifth MVP trophy with a historic season, breaking several single-season passing records.

Peyton was the signal caller for the best offense in NFL history. Manning set a record for passing yards in a season with 5,477, his first season passing for more than 5,000 yards. He also threw for 55 touchdowns, a new NFL single-season record. This is statistically the best season a quarterback has ever had, but a lot of people won’t remember that.

Fans will remember Peyton’s meltdown in Super Bowl XLVIII more than anything from this season. It won’t be the Super Bowl record 34 completions that fans will remember about Peyton’s performance but the opening safety and two interceptions he threw.

Seattle’s defense got pressure on Manning and didn’t allow the Denver receivers to get yards after catch when he did complete his passes. Peyton Manning is now 1-2 in Super Bowl appearances, and this loss is what fans will remember instead of his record-setting season.